Artificial ground freezing of underground mines in cold regions using thermosyphons with air insulation

Current practice of underground artificial ground freezing(AGF)typically involves huge refrigeration systems of large economic and environmental costs.In this study,a novel AGF technique is proposed deploying available cold wind in cold regions.This is achieved by a static heat transfer device called thermosyphon equipped with an air insulation layer.A refrigeration unit can be optionally integrated to meet additional cooling requirements.The introduction of air insulation isolates the thermosyphon from ground zones where freezing is not needed,resulting in:(1)steering the cooling resources(cold wind or refrigeration)towards zones of interest;and(2)minimizing refrigeration load.This design is demonstrated using well-validated mathematical models from our previous work based on two-phase enthalpy method of the ground coupled with a thermal resistance network for the thermosyphon.Two Canadian mines are considered:the Cigar Lake Mine and the Giant Mine.The results show that our proposed design can speed the freezing time by 30%at the Giant Mine and by two months at the Cigar Lake Mine.Further,a cooling load of 2.4 GWh can be saved at the Cigar Lake Mine.Overall,this study provides mining practitioners with sustainable solutions of underground AGF.

Performance analyses of two-phase closed thermosyphons for road embankments in the high-latitude permafrost regions

Two-phase closed thermosyphons(TPCTs)are widely used in infrastructure constructions in permafrost regions.Due to different climatic conditions,the effectiveness of TPCT will also be different,especially in the extremely cold region of the Da Xing'anling Mountains.In this study,a series of three-dimensional finite element TPCT embankment models were established based on the ZhanglingMohe highway TPCT test section in Da Xing'anling Mountains,and the thermal characteristics and the cooling effect of the TPCTs were analyzed.The results indicated that the TPCTs installed in the northeastern high-latitude regions is effective in cooling and stabilizing the embankment.The working cycle of the TPCTs is nearly 7 months,and the cooling range of the TPCTs can reach 3 m in this region.However,due to the extremely low temperature,the TPCT generates a large radial gradient in the permafrost layer.Meanwhile,by changing the climate conditions,the same type of TPCT embankment located in the Da Xing'anling Mountains,the Xiao Xing'anling Mountains,and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost regions were simulated.Based on the comparison of the climate differences between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Northeast China,the differences in the effectiveness of TPCTs were studied.Finally,the limitations of using existing TPCTs in high-latitude permafrost regions of China were discussed and the potential improvements of the TPCT in cold regions were presented.

重力热管技术研究与应用概述

重力热管是一种高效的传热元件,因其结构简单、等温性良好、换热性能优异、不含有能动部件等特点,被广泛应用于各个领域。本文全面总结讨论了重力热管的传热机制,包括膜状冷凝和努塞尔理论、降膜蒸发和降膜沸腾等机理,并对相关的理论模型进行了讨论分析,给出了比较合适可靠的理论模型选择建议。此外还介绍了重力热管在工程领域的应用现状,指出了重力热管技术应用所面临的问题和发展方向。

绝热段阻力对CO_(2)、R134a和R410A分离式热管传热性能的影响

通过实验研究了上升管和下降管阻力对CO_(2)、R134a和R410A分离式热管传热性能的影响,分析了热管传热极限和传热热阻的变化规律。研究发现阻力变化对不同工质热管的影响不同,对于CO_(2)热管,上升管阻力和下降管阻力对其传热性能的影响程度接近,当上升管或下降管阀门开度从90°降至30°时,CO_(2)热管的传热极限均由1200 W降为700 W。对于R134a和R410A热管而言,上升管阻力对其传热性能的影响更大,当上升管阀门开度从90°降至30°时,R410A热管的传热极限由1300 W降为700 W,R134a热管则未出现正常运行状态,管内始终存在较大的过热过冷度,两种热管的传热热阻也显著增大。而下降管阻力增大对R134a和R410A热管的传热性能几乎无影响。因此,在实际工程设计中,CO_(2)热管应采用上升管和下降管管径相同或相近的结构,而R134a和R410A热管适合采用上升管管径明显大于下降管管径的结构,以达到节省管材的目的。

充液率和倾角对多年冻土区重力热管传热性能的影响

为探讨热管最佳工况,搭建了适用于多年冻土区的氨-钢热管试验台。通过监测热管内部轴向、外壁的温度分布以及外壁面的热流密度变化,在负温条件下开展了不同充液率(20%、30%、40%)和倾角(10°、30°、50°、70°、90°)对热管传热性能影响的试验。试验结果表明:在三种充液率下,热管处于10°倾角时均温性最佳;充液率为30%和40%的热管倾角50°时总热阻最小、传热效率最高,充液率为20%条件下热管的总热阻和传热效率在倾角30°时分别达到极小值和最高值。总体而言,充液率为30%的热管具有最佳传热表现。

双流程卧式热虹吸重沸器的优化设计

通过以气分装置脱异丁烷塔底卧式热虹吸重沸器为例,介绍了重沸器的工艺核算及换热器的选型核算,并基于压力平衡原理,介绍了重沸器的安装高度计算,同时结合工程实际案例,考虑到设备平面布置及管道柔性设计要求、工艺操作灵活性等因素,分别介绍了双流程卧式热虹吸重沸器的平面布置及管路走向设计、自动控制方案等。项目在精馏塔底增上双流程卧式热虹吸重沸器,并接入催化装置顶循油作为新增重沸器热源,通过工艺装置间的热联合,解决了老旧化工装置精馏塔底采用单一蒸汽热源存在能耗高、采用单一装置余热存在供热波动的问题,实现了能量优化。老旧装置精馏塔底双流程卧式热虹吸重沸器可以布置在塔一侧,共用重沸器返回口,此外重沸器出入口管路应尽量简化,减小管路压降,以确保重沸器的稳定运行。项目改造并投入运行后,装置年节省蒸汽费用约1235万元,提高了全厂经济效益,对节能降耗有很大借鉴意义。

Laboratory test on the combined cooling effect of L-shaped thermosyphons and thermal insulation on high-grade roadway construction in permafrost regions

With the completion of the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway,economic development of related areas has been greatly accelerated.This,in return,calls for building or upgrading more roadways,especially high-grade roadways.In cold regions,the thawing of permafrost can induce settlement damage of and even failure to railway (or roadway) embankments.Thermosyphons (self-powered refrigera-tion devices that are used to help keep the permafrost cool) have proved effective in mitigating thaw settlement by maintaining the thermal stability of the embankments.However,for high-grade roadway embankments of great width,stabilizing or cooling ef-fects of traditional geotechnological measures may be limited.To enhance the cooling effect of thermosyphons,an L-shaped thermosyphon was designed.A laboratory test was carried out to study the combined cooling effect of the L-shaped thermosyphon and thermal insulation applying to roadbed construction.The angle between the evaporator and condenser sections of the L-shaped thermosyphon is 134 degrees,and the L-shaped thermosyphon was inserted into the soil at an angle of 5 degrees with the road surface.The tested results show that the L-shaped thermosyphon is effective in removing heat from a roadway in winter.When the ambient air temperature is lower than the soil temperature,the thermosyphon is active and extracts the heat in the soil around it.When the ambient air temperature is higher than the soil temperature,the thermosyphon is inactive,and no heat is in-jected into the soil through the L-shaped thermosyphon.Compared to embankments with straight thermosyphons,the inner parts of the embankments with L-shaped thermosyphons were significantly cooled.It is hoped that the present study would be useful to the application of L-shaped thermosyphons in the construction of high-grade roadways in cold regions.

CONDENSING HEAT TRANSFER IN AN ADVANCED TWO-PHASE CLOSED THERMOSYPHON

1 INTRODUCTIONClosed thermosyphon has been developed to enhance heat transfer and recover wasteheat in various process industries [1,2].Stimulated by this success,a new type oftwo-phase closed thermosyphon was designed by inserting respectively two inner tubesinto the thermosyphon,one in the boiling section and the other in the condensing sec-tion.The two-phase flow boiling heat transfer coefficient was calculated successfully onthe basis of Chen’s dual-mechanism [3].A boiling heat transfer model for thetwo-phase closed thermosyphon with an inner tube in the boiling section was pro-

Thermal Modeling of Thermosyphon Integrated Heat Sink for CPU Cooling

A thermal model has been developed to study the thermal behavior of Thermosyphon integrated Heat Sink during CPU cooling. An Indirect cooling module has been experimentally studied and analyzed under steady state condition for both natural and forced convection. The thermal model is employed to determine the actual heat transfer and the effectiveness of the present model and compared it with the conventional cooling method and found that there is an appreciable improvement in the present model.

Centrifuge model test on performance of thermosyphon cooled sandbags stabilizing warm oil pipeline buried in permafrost

The thaw settlement of pipeline foundation soils in response to the operation of the first China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline along the eastern flank of the northern Da Xing'anling Mountains in Northeast China was simulated in a physical model test(with a similitude ratio of 1/73) in a geotechnical centrifuge. Two pipes of a supported and an unsupported section were evaluated over a testing period for simulating 20 years of actual pipeline operation with seasonal cyclically changing oil and ambient temperatures. The results show that pipe settlement of the supported pipe was 45% of settlement of the unsupported pipe. Settlement for the unsupported section was approximately 35% of the thaw bulb depth below the initial pipe elevation, only 30% of that for the supported pipe due to the influence of the supports. The final thaw bulbs extended approximately 3.6 and 1.6 times of the pipe diameter below the unsupported and supported pipe bottom elevations, respectively. The sandbag supports kept frozen during the test period because of cooling effect of the thermosyphons. The maximum bending stress induced over the 20 m span length from bearing of the full cover over the pipe would be equivalent to40% specified minimum yield strength(SMYS). Potential buckling of the pipe should be considered as the ground thaws.This study also offers important data for calibration and validation of numerical simulation models.

Experimental study on transient behavior of semi-open two-phase thermosyphon

An experimental system was set up to measure the temperature, pressure, heat transfer rate and mass flow rate in a semi-open two-phase thermosyphon. The behaviors of a semi-open two-phase thermosyphon during startup, shutdown and lack of water were studied to get complete understanding of its thermal characteristics. The variation of wall temperature, heat-exchange condition and pressure fluctuations of semi-open two-phase thermosyphons showed that the startup of SOTPT needs about 60-70 min; the startup speed of SOTPT is determined by the startup speed of the condensation section; the average pressure in the heat pipe is equal to the environmental pressure usually; the shutdown of SOTPT needs about 30-50min; a semi-open two-phase thermosyphon has good response to lack of water accident.

Numerical analysis on the thermal regimes of thermosyphon embankment in snowy permafrost area

Snow covers the road embankments in winter in high latitude permafrost zones. The effect of snow cover on embankments was simulated based on field measurements of boundary conditions and initial ground temperature profile in Mohe,China. The effect of thermosyphons on the embankment warmed by snow cover was evaluated by numerical simulations as well. The results indicate that the difference of thermal regimes between non-thermosyphon and thermosyphon embankments reaches to 22 m in depth below the ground surface. It is much warmer in the non-thermosyphon embankment body in winter. Affected by the snow cover, heat flux gradually spreads into the deep ground of the subgrade over time. The permafrost table under the slope toe of a thermosyphon embankment is 1.2 m higher than that of a non-thermosyphon embankment in the 20 th year. In addition, the permafrost table at the slope toe of a thermosyphon embankment is 26 cm deeper over 20 years. These results indicate that thermosyphons can greatly weaken the warm effect of snow cover. However,thermosyphons cannot avoid the degradation of permafrost under the scenarios of snow cover. Therefore, composite measures need to be adopted to keep embankment stability in snowy permafrost zones.

Temperature distribution of fluids in a two-section two-phase closed thermosyphon wellbore

Compared with a conventional single section two-phase closed thermosyphon （TPCT） wellbore, a two-section TPCT wellbore has better heat transfer performance, which may improve the temperature distribution of fluid in wellbores, increase the temperature of fluid in wellheads and even more effectively reduce the failure rate of conventional TPCT wellbores. Heat transfer performance of two-section TPCT wellbores is affected by working medium, combination mode and oil flow rate. Different working media are introduced into the upper and lower TPCTs, which may achieve a better match between the working medium and the temperature field in the wellbores. Interdependence exists between the combination mode and the flow rate of the oil, which affects the heat transfer performance of a two-section TPCT wellbore. The experimental results show that a two-section TPCT wellbore, with equal upper and lower TPCTs respectively filled with Freon and methanol, has the best heat transfer performance when the oil flow rate is 200 L/h.

A Loop Thermosyphon Type Cooling System for High Heat Flux

With rapid development of the semiconductor technology, more efficient cooling systems for electronic devices are needed. In this situation, in the present study, a loop thermosyphon type cooling system, which is composed mainly of a heating block, an evaporator and an air-cooled condenser, is investigated experimentally in order to evaluate the cooling performance. At first, it is examined that the optimum volume filling rate of this cooling system is approximately 40%. Next, four kinds of working fluids, R1234ze(E), R1234ze(Z), R134a and ethanol, are tested using a blasted heat transfer surface of the evaporator. In cases of R1234ze(E), R1234ze(Z), R134a and ethanol, the effective heat flux, at which the heating block surface temperature reaches 70°C, is 116 W/cm2, 106 W/cm2, 104 W/cm2 and 60 W/cm2, respectively. This result indicates that R1234ze(E) is the most suitable for the present cooling system. The minimum boiling thermal resistance of R1234ze(E) is 0.05 (cm2·K)/W around the effective heat flux of 100 W/cm2. Finally, four kinds of heat transfer surfaces of the evaporator, smooth, blasted, copper-plated and finned surfaces, are tested using R1234ze(E) as working fluid. The boiling thermal resistance of the blasted surface is the smallest among tested heat transfer surfaces up to 116 W/cm2 in effective heat flux. However, it increases drastically due to the appearance of dry-patch if the effective heat flux exceeds 116 W/cm2. On the other hand, in cases of copper-plated and finned surfaces, the dry-patch does not appear up to 150 W/cm2 in effective heat flux, and the boiling thermal resistances of those surfaces keep 0.1 (cm2·K)/W.

Effect of Non-Condensable Gas Leakage on Long Term Cooling Performance of Loop Thermosyphon

We have developed a loop thermosyphon for cooling electronic devices. The cooling performance of a thermosyphon deteriorates with an increasing amount of non-condensable gas (NCG). Design of a thermosyphon must consider NCG to provide guaranteed performance for a long time. In this study, the heat transfer performance of a thermosyphon was measured while changing the amount of NCG. The resultant performances were expressed as approximations. These approximations enabled us to predict the total thermal resistance of the thermosyphon by the amount of NCG and input heating. Then, using the known leakage in the thermosyphon and the amount of dissolved NCG in the water, we can predict the amount of NCG and the total thermal resistance of the thermosyphon after ten years. Although there is a slight leakage in the thermosyphon, we are able to design a thermosyphon with a guaranteed level of cooling performance for a long time using the proposed design method.

分离式热管在暖通空调领域的应用综述

分离式热管作为一种高效传热设备,广泛应用于暖通空调领域,具有制造维护成本低、可靠性高、传热性能好、适用性强等优点。本文综述了分离式热管在暖通空调领域的应用现状,从数据中心和基站、热回收及太阳能系统3个应用场景介绍了国内外对于分离式热管的研究,客观评价了目前研究工作中取得的主要成果及不足,针对未来分离式热管研究的发展方向给出了展望。这一综述将有助于研究人员和工程技术人员了解分离式热管的发展和应用情况,促进热管技术的发展。

Compact Thermosyphon Heat Exchanger for Power Electronics Cooling

The heat losses density in power electronics products follows an ever increasing trend. Nowadays they reach 200 W/cmz at chip level and 50 W/cm2 at heatsink base level. Water cooling is the most effective cooling method but unfortunately water is often undesired due to high voltages or costumer requirements. Two-phase cooling is a promising technology for electronics cooling. It allows using dielectric fluids in passive systems and still benefits from very high heat transfer coefficients. Thermosyphons are a particularly interesting technology in the field of power electronics because it is entirely passive and a simple equipment. ABB has developed a compact thermosyphon heat exchanger based on automotive technology, which uses numerous multi-port extruded tubes with capillary sized channels disposed in parallel and brazed to a heated base plate in order to achieve the desired compactness. The experimental performances of this novel power electronics cooling system are presented with R134a as a working fluid. The influence of several parameters on the performances was studied experimentally： coolant flow rate, coolant temperature, heat load and fluid filling.

Numerical Simulation of Two-Phase Closed Thermosyphon

Heat transfer and hydrodynamics of two phase closed thermosyphon （TPCT） is studied using finite difference method of Stream function and vorticity. The mathematical model is formed for both vapor phase and liquid film in a non-dimensional form. The momentum and energy equations as parabolic equations have been solved by means of the locally one-dimensional scheme of A.A. Samarskii. The Poisson equation for the stream function has been approximated on the basis of the discrete scheme ＂cross＂. The obtained system of algebraic equations has been solved by the successive over relaxation method. The effect of the Rayleigh number on the velocity and temperature fields in the domain of interest and on the average Nusselt number at the solid-fluid interfaces is investigated. It was found that increase in the Rayleigh number leads to the increment of both the average Nusselt number and the stream function in the vapor zone.

黑龙江冻土路基融沉防控热棒技术及效能分析

为探寻高纬度多年冻土地区路基融沉防控有效措施,以京漠公路瓦拉干至樟岭段为试验路段,设计热棒路基试验方案,针对现场4年5次采集的地温数据、路基变形监测数据进行对比分析。结果显示,试验段热棒的有效工作半径为3 m,最大工作半径可达4.5 m,热棒路基土层地温稳定深度范围在4.5 m以下,稳定温度为0℃左右,且试验路段路基底面的冻土稳定,未发生融沉现象,热棒技术对防控多年冻土路基融沉效果明显,但深度在0~4.5 m之间土层地温的变化受外界温度影响较大。

利用热棒阵对多年冻土区桥墩进行主动热防护研究

为解决青藏铁路沿线多年冻土区各大桥的桥梁桥墩沉降问题,以K1401特大桥桥墩为研究治理对象,设计出一种主动热防护的热棒阵治理方法。热棒阵设计思想是利用外侧热棒使土体冻结形成冰幕,保护和维持内侧热棒冻结区的稳定发展,降低桥墩桩基附近多年冻土温度,使桩基承载力增强,保护桥墩长期热稳定性。在典型桥墩周围内外侧平行布置热棒阵,热棒埋深依据初始冻土上下限决定,且埋设间距不超过2 m。开展了现场监测,用2个冻融循环周期的监测数据分析地温和沉降变形时空效应,研究热棒阵主动热防护方法的降温效能和治理效果。结果表明:桥墩外侧热棒水平方向3 m范围内降温明显,经过两个冬季后热棒周边3 m范围内平均降温幅度为1.1℃;竖直方向上随深度增加,降温幅度有所减小,冻土上限至埋深15 m范围内平均降幅超过0.4℃;整治前桥墩每年沉降量超过10 mm,布置热棒阵后年沉降量小于3 mm,热棒阵整治后沉降变形得到有效控制。本研究可为寒区同类桥梁桩基融沉病害整治提供借鉴。